When I was a little kid I used to think that anyone over the age of 20 was old and if you were old enough to be a grandma or a grandpa you were really, really, really old. It's so funny that when we are young we can't wait to be older and when we are older we wish we were younger. There is something about the human psyche about wanting what we don't have.

Of course with each passing year I realize that what I once viewed was old is actually not so old these days. In fact knowing that I am just 4 months shy of celebrating my 52nd birthday I realize that MY middle age is not my grandparent's middle age--or at least I don't think it is. But had you asked me this question 8 years ago, you may have been surprised to hear my answer.

I was 80 pounds heavier, having just had my gall bladder removed and newly diagnosed with hypertension. My feet and back hurt all the time and it was difficult for me to walk without something. I had little energy and I was in a chronic state of depression. At age 43 I felt middle aged--in fact I felt that all my good days were behind me.

But on February 9, 2005 that all changed. I decided enough was enough. I had two choices-- I could wallow in my sorrow OR I could empower myself to do everything I could to embrace the habits of heatlhy living.

It was a VERY slow and meticulous process, but I did things my way. I started tracking what I was eating and started doing small stints of workouts on the elliptical until I worked my way up to an hour a day. Nine months into my journey I joined a gym, took up strength training and running and as they say the rest was history.

It took me a solid 3 1/2 years to lose the weight, but I did not care. This was a lifestyle. It was my new way of living. So much so that I got my dream job working for SparkPeople.com, which I held for almost 5 years. But there was something more.

In July 2009 I received my Road Runners Club of America Certified Running Coach certification, but I still longed for more. So this past spring I took the next step to get my ACE CPT certification--yep at the tender age of 51 years 8 months. The first exam I have taken in almost 30 years. But I proved to myself that day that I can do this.

My desire is to help others forge their own path. Not to follow the path of someone else, but to carve out a plan on their own with my guidance. I am a firm believer that when we find a passion in what we do, no matter how old we are, we are never too old to change the courses, we just have to have the courage to put up the mast and see where life carries us.